Illini overcome slow start, move into 4-way tie in the B1G

Coming off the thrill of last weekend's historic road win in Mackey Arena, Illinois welcomed Washington into the State Farm Center. Many people thought this game was placed in the perfect trap spot. Through the 4 minutes it looked like Illinois was having an emotional letdown. Illinois trailed 7-0 before Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic broke the Illini's drought to make it an 8-7 game. From the 14:02 mark in the first half and on, Illinois never gave up the lead. Washington hung around, but any real pressure put on Illinois was answered immediately. Illinois got the job done and extended their win streak to 10.

The stars of the night were the freshman. Keaton Wagler remains unfazed. After one of the greatest performances in college basketball history, Wagler picked up right where he left off. Finishing with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and only 1 turnover, Wagler is truly making his case for Big Ten Player of the Year and All-American status. No freshman has ever won Big Ten Player of the Year, but Wagler might have something to say about that as we get closer and closer to March. NBA scouts were scattered around the State Farm Center to see Wagler and Hannes Steinbach for Washington, who had a solid night. David Mirkovic might have made a lasting impression for himself, however. Mirkovic is quietly putting up an excellent freshman season that would be good enough to win Big Ten Freshman of the Year in some years. David scored 19 points and grabbed 6 boards. Illinois' offense has started to give him more responsibilities and he is responding well.

Ben Humrichous might finally be out of his shooting slump. Prior to the Maryland game, Humrichous was 9 for his last 36 from three. Beginning with the Maryland game, Ben is now 8 for his last 14. His 14 points tonight were much needed. People keep saying he does not hit any momentum threes, but he hit two dagger to send the Illini Faithful home happy. Humrichous has completely turned the corner in other facets of his game. His defense and rebounding have been much improved which is why his shot not falling was even more frustrating. Coach Underwood even mentioned in his post-game presser that Ben never makes any scouting report errors. If ben can continue to shoot the ball at a high level, Illinois' already explosive offense only gets more dangerous.

Most of the other Illini had pretty quiet nights. The Ivisic twins combined for 1/11 from three, but they were both solid in other areas. Andrej Stojakovic had as rough of a start to this game as anyone, but he started to settle in as the game progressed. Jake Davis hit a first half three and grabbed an offensive rebound.

Illinois was great on the offensive glass once again. 6 of the 7 Illini who played corralled at least 1 offensive rebound. Washington is a good rebounding team, so they were able to get some offensive rebounds for themselves too. Illinois still outscored Washington 24-4 in the second-chance scoring category. Also in the ball control stats, Illinois only turned the ball over 5 times to Washington's 10.

The only real struggle for Illinois was foul shooting. Illinois finished 10/16, but at one point they were 4/9 with a couple misses on the front-end of a one-and-one. It was one of the reasons Washington kept hanging in there, and I can assure you that Illinois will have to convert at a higher possession on Sunday.

What this means:

Illinois now sits atop the Big Ten Conference with 3 other teams at 9-1. It's Illinois, Nebraska, Michigan, and Michigan State. What a weekend we will have as Michigan and Michigan State play tonight, and Illinois and Nebraska play on Sunday. This means going into next week, it will be a two-way tie for first place. and major momentum as February arrives.

Illinois is now 18-3 (9-1) with 6 quad 1 victories, and 4 of those being quad 1A. The Illini have put themselves solidly on the 2 seed line, and if they keep winning, they could jump up to 1 seed soon. Illinois is also in a good position to be sent to St. Louis for the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament. It's an exciting time to be an Illinois Basketball fan.